Snap Inc. on Wednesday priced its initial public offering at $17 a share, pinning a $24 billion valuation on the company.
The offering, across 200 million shares of Class A common stock, totals $3.4 billion.
The price is above the $14 to $16 per-share estimate originally targeted in the company’s SEC IPO filing submitted last month.
Snap fancies itself a camera company, a bold proposition that seeks to redefine the traditional way many think of and use cameras today.
The company’s IPO filing provided insights into the business, which until now had largely remained tight-lipped on its performance. The filing showed big top-line growth last year when revenue jumped nearly 600 percent to $404.5 million. The company racked up losses of $514.6 million and warned prospective investors it may never realize a profit as it continues to invest heavily in growth vehicles, such as last year’s camera-enabled sunglasses, dubbed Spectacles. The Spectacles had previously been made available for sale via pop-up vending machines, but more recently became available online for $129.99 with a two- to four-week delivery promise.
The tech company’s presence within Venice’s arty neighborhood scene, home to trendy streets such as Abbot Kinney Boulevard and rising areas around Lincoln Boulevard and Main Street, has raised ire among some. The company’s IPO was preceded by protests that broke out Tuesday outside the company’s Venice headquarters with some saying Snap has pushed out mom-and-pop businesses and forced gentrification in the area.
Shares of Snap Inc. are expected to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SNAP.